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Chanterelle Has Closed

Chanterelle, one of the first restaurants to bring fine dining downtown, has closed after a 30-year run. Here is what the owners, Karen and David Waltuck have to say:

After thirty years of successful business we are sad to share the news that despite all our efforts the plans to renovate and re-open Chanterelle will not come to pass.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the many people who have become dear friends and supporters through the years, to our loyal and loving staff and to our endlessly encouraging family.

Through good and bad times it is a thrilling, passionate and rewarding journey. We are proud to be a part of this creative industry in this unparalleled city of ours and look forward to what we will bring to you in the future…

They had closed for renovations this summer and were planning to reopen in November for their 30th anniversary. They first opened in SoHo, in in 1979, and moved to 2 Harrison Street in TriBeCa 10 years later. We’ll update this when we have more information.

Update | 12:29 p.m.
I just spoke with Karen. “It’s not been a good economy,” she said. “We tried hard to keep Chanterelle open and reinvent it.” Even after announcing the closing she said there was “a glimmer of hope” that they could reopen, but for now they have no plans.

Had many splendid meals here over the years – Karen and David and their team always did it with relaxed flair, grace and style – to say Chanterelle will be missed is to say we’ve lost another small piece of the best of NYC.

This is the worst restaurant news since the closing of Fleur de Sel. Chanterelle was one of the best and, in a sense, most overlooked restaurants in the city. I had hoped that given their ability to survive tough economic times in the past, they’d pull through this time too. We’ve lost a special place downtown. Very sad.

I remember the first time we ate there, probably 10 years ago. Someone had given us a gift certificate good for “Dinner for Two”. When we checked in the host said “Oh, boy. Someone sure likes you!” And she was absolutely right – a gift of dinner and wine at Chanterelle was the ultimate treat.
I’m so grateful we were able to eat there this summer. I’m sorry it wasn’t enough to keep them going.

I am so saddened by this news and send my thanks to Karen and David for the unforgettable experiences I have had dining at Chanterelle. I had the pleasure of attending a cooking demo with David at the old Peter Kumps and still have his smoked salmon pate recipe.

as a veteran of the nyc dining scene, 20 years ago, and having worked in about twenty stars worth of nytimes rated restaurants in my former ‘career’,
i can easily and confidently say that chanterelle was not only one of the best, obviously,
but also in its own class of food (ny based, french influenced, but all david), service (tops for years, looking back, and always emphasizing care for the individual guest), and decor (lifetime acheivment award for best downtown+art+minimal+french accent+amazing flowers)

new york superluxewealth has pushed out all the artists, so at least the role of dining epicenter for the art world wont be needed within manhattan anymore.

the city should honor it by having karen’s wonderful script form the lettering for the franklin st subway station or something.

I find curious so many of the comments not only on this blog, but others, when longstanding great reataurants close, how it will be missed. If you enjoyed it and it was one of the best dinners in your life, don’t wait several years to go back. I understand it might be a special occasion restaurant for many of us, but if it’s a favorite, they need our support. Not saying, just saying…..

Karen and David’s restaurant has been an extraordinary venue for absolutely wonderful celebrations over the years. Dining with them and their staff — being treated as guests in a gracious home — has always been a memorable treat. Is it too much to ask that Chanterelle will sprout again? We hope not.

thanks for letting two country bumpkins discover what a marvelous experience dining can be when the food is phenomenal, the service is phenomenal, the atmosphere phenomenal, and David and Karen phenomenal. Best of everything to the two of you.

It’s unfortunate that the pressures of our difficult economy forced the closure of this fine restaurant. I am sure that new opportunities will open up for Karen & David Waltuck, but right now it is a loss to NYC as well as to them as individuals. Although I live in another city, I have fond memories of the few meals I enjoyed there with local friends, enjoyed the many articles I read about them as they won many awards, and still use David’s first cookbook! (Now I’ll have to get the second one.) I know that both Karen and David created an ambience and provided food in the French tradition of a fine meal in a fine setting which facilitated fine conversation and a fine experience. I wonder how many marriage proposals -or other such celebrations- took place in the many years of Chanterelle’s exisitence… If those stories are shared with them, perhaps that’s another book David and Karen could write!

4 Friends and I have gathered at Chanterelle for lunch every year for the last 17 years on the Friday before Xmas. It was always an event we looked forward to all year long. While no doubt troubling that we always insisted on staying until the last dinner table was seated, — those long afternoons, the company of you and your staff combined with the magnificent food and wine experiences in that beautiful setting will go with us to our graves. Our experience with you is legend among our friends and family.

After two high-pressured years at Bouley, I went to work for David. The time in Chanterelle’s kitchen rejuvenated both body and spirit and put me back in touch with my passion.
“Make me a chicken and make it hot”. My love to them both
and best wishes for the next great adventure.

This is truly a sad moment in New York restaurant history. Having worked for the Waltucks for many years ago, I fondly look back on my experiences there: the friendships that were forged with both employees and clients; the education in the world of fine dining that Karen and David “graciously” and patiently imparted; and finally the value of being “kind and thoughtful” in your actions, not just to clients but also the value of extending that same ideology to those you employ. It was “home” when you walked through the door for a day of work. All of this came at a great expense in more ways than one.
Over the years they have given a lot to the city of New York and will truly be missed.
Wishing them the best in the future.

A meal at Chanterelle was one of the high points–certainly the best meal–of a visit to New York from Texas earlier this year. The food was beyond excellent, the wine advice proved very good too, and, most important, the kind attention that David and Karen gave us made it a delightful evening that I had planned to repeat as often as possible. I’m very sorry to hear of Chanterelle’s closing, but I’m sure that such a very innovative and talented team as K and D will make their mark again on the food scene, probably with even greater success. I want to know what they’re planning next!

I am devastated. My husband and I were married there on May 18, 2002 and have celebrated annually there since. In between we have hosted friends, business trelationships and others to a culinary treat accompanied by the most fabulous service all done effortlessly without an ounce of pretension. As I said, I am devastated.